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Bronze Age 'New York' discovered, Israeli archaeologists say
Deutsche Welle ^ | October 2019 | unattributed

Posted on 10/13/2019 4:19:08 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

Archaeologists in Israel announced Sunday that they had uncovered a 5,000-year-old city north of Tel Aviv.

It is the largest Bronze Age urban area found in the region to date and could fundamentally change ideas of when sophisticated urbanization began taking place in the area, they said.

Israel's Antiquities Authority said in a Facebook post that the city was discovered at the En Esur excavation site during road works near Harish, a town some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Tel Aviv.

The archaeologists described the city as "cosmopolitan and planned." It covered 65 hectares (160 acres) and was home to about some 6,000 people, they added, which would have been a significant size for the era.

This is the "New York of the early Bronze Age," the authority's statement read.

Residential and public areas, streets and allies, and fortifications were all uncovered at the excavation site. Other discoveries included an unusual ritual temple and burnt animal bones likely used for sacrificial offerings, as well as pieces of statues, pottery and tools.

The achaeologists said the city's inhabitants likely lived from agriculture and trade with other regions and kingdoms.

Older ruins dating back 7,000 years were also found under the Bronze-Age city.

The find could provide new insight into when rural populations began to gather in urban settings in the Southern Levant area, today the location of Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan and parts of Syria.

During the region's early Bronze Age, which lasted from roughly 3,200 B.C. to 1,200 B.C., low-density villages in rural settings were thought to have been the predominant social living unit.

(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: ancientisrael; archaeology; bronzeage; chalcolithic; enesur; godsgravesglyphs; harish; israel
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Israeli archaeologists confirmed the discovery of a 5,000-year-old city in En Esur north of Tel Aviv on Sunday.

It is the largest Bronze Age urban area found in the region to date, providing a new insight into when sophisticated urbanisation took place in the region.

"During the early bronze age this site reached a size of 650 dunams, the largest by far in the southern Levant," explained Izthak Paliss, Head of Excavation in the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA).

"What we find here is a city, a Canaanite city already during the late 4th millennium in which we have a planned city."

The settlement was believed to be home to around 6,000 people and contained a network of streets, squares, public buildings, fortification walls and drainage systems.

Another archaeologist at the Israeli Antiquities Authority Itay Elad highlighted the discovery of a ritual temple, with burnt animal bones likely used for sacrificial offerings.

The site was discovered during roadworks and researchers are now conducting a salvage operation.

It was previously thought that low-density villages in rural settings were the predominant living unit in the region's early Bronze Age, which lasted from roughly 3,200 BC to 1,200 BC.

Video ID: 20191006-032

Israel: Excavation sheds light on unprecedented ancient city | Ruptly | Published on Oct 6, 2019 | YouTube


Israel: Excavation sheds light on unprecedented ancient city
Oh, and BTW, Canaanite my ass.

41 posted on 10/14/2019 1:21:53 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: PIF

Call center and digital cloud server complex.


42 posted on 08/02/2022 5:40:19 PM PDT by Getready (Wisdom is more valuable than gold and diamonds, and harder to find.)
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